Washington PAC Dedicated To "Interest Of Jewish Community" Spends Money Against Just One Candidate — And She’s Jewish

It’s Washingtonians For A Brighter Future’s (WBF) first year backing candidates who they believe “support the interests of the Jewish community” and so far, the PAC has only spent money to oppose a Jewish candidate — Zev Cook for Tacoma City Council position 5. 

“I’ve clearly been targetted,” said Cook, a Democratic Socialist and anti-Zionist candidate. “I’m the only candidate running for council in Tacoma who's been public about my support for Palestine.” 

While WBF co-chair Nevet Basker told that Tacoma Tribune that the PAC opposes Cook because her “rhetoric against Zionism" “creates a permission structure for antisemitism,” Cook argues that her advocacy against the Israeli government and its genocide is not at odds with the interest of the Jewish community, but actually rooted in the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, which means “repairing the world” in Hebrew. 

“I think that their attacks against a Jewish candidate just go to show that the Zionist lobby has no real interest in supporting the Jewish community, only defending pro-genocide narratives,” said Cook. 

WBF has endorsed Cook's opponent Joe Bushnell, calling him a "friend of the Jewish community" and linking to a video about his recent visit to the Holocaust Center for Humanity. Cook said WBF's support of Bushnell does not necessarily mean he's the best choice for Jewish Tacomans, just that he's the choice for the "Israel lobby."

"[Bushnell's] shown a willingness to not say anything about genocide and implicitly endorse these attack ads against a Jewish candidate," Cook said.

WBF endorsed a total of 15 candidates this cycle, including Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, and Seattle Council President Sara Nelson.

According to the PDC, WBF has raised $32,000 since it initially filed at the end of 2024. WBF has only played in one race, shelling out $16,000 on at least two mailers and a round of text messages opposing Cook. That’s a significant amount of money in a Tacoma City Council race. Cook has only spent about $21,000 so far in her race and only about $6,000 of that on literature. Her opponent, WBF-endorsed candidate Joe Bushnell, has spent about $17,000 and even less on literature. 

While most of the money comes from donors based in Western Washington, it's worth noting that almost 97% of WBF’s money comes from outside of Tacoma. In fact, only one donation of $1,000 comes from within Tacoma City limits, according to the PDC. But that didn’t stop WBF from telling Tacomans what's best for them. 

Earlier this month, WBF sent out a mailer that accused Cook of “cooking up chaos for Tacoma” and tied her to the 2020 movement to defund the police. 

Then, just this week, WBF sent another fear-mongering mailer accusing Cook of wanting to put “violent criminals” in various affluent areas outside of the district she’s running for. Cook says it shows just how “out-of-touch” WFB is. 

Neither mailer referenced Cook’s propensity for watermelon-themed jewelery, the keffiyeh she’s often wrapped in, or her unapologetic advocacy for an end to the genocide in Gaza. That’s because while WBF wants to back candidates who support Jewish individuals, organizations, Zionism and the State of Israel, the PAC doesn’t plan to explicitly “message” on those issues, according to The Cholent, a Seattle-based Jewish newsletter hosted on Substack. Instead the PAC wants to focus on messaging around “defund,” which political consultants have used to scare voters for the last five years.

Cook takes issue with reducing her public safety platform to “defunding the police” as it's not a “useful framework for talking about public policy,” she said in a recent Instagram post. Instead she wants to focus on what actually keeps Tacomans safe — fully funding non-police response, case managers, and the fire department. 

It’s probably strategically wise not to try to tease out a debate over Israel on a mailer for a South Tacoma City Council seat. Cook says she’s so far had no issues with voters at the doors over her advocacy against genocide. She said she’s staying focused on the issues Tacomans (whether Jewish, Muslim, or otherwise) care about: raising the minimum wage, building affordable housing, and taxing the rich.